Fall FleasThe end of summer doesn´t mean you can let down your guard and forget about flea and tick protection. Since fleas thrive in temperatures around 70 degrees, September is often the worst month for flea problems.

Protect Your Dog from Heartworm Disease Heartworm disease is a serious and potentially fatal condition caused by parasitic worms living in a dog´s heart and pulmonary arteries. It´s spread from animal to animal by mosquitoes. Heartworm infection can cause irreversible damage to the heart, blood vessels, kidneys and liver. An advanced infection can cause congestive heart failure.

Tick TipsIn most areas of the country, ticks are active from about April to November. Tick bites can transmit bacteria that cause serious illness in pets and people.

Bees Sting Pets Too[offsite link]The significance of a sting depends on the type of stinging insect, the pet´s reactivity to the venom, and the location of the sting. Typical signs include pain, redness, swelling, and sometimes more severe allergic-type reactions develop.

Fleas On Dogs and Cats and What You Can Do About Them[offsite link]These small dark brown insects prefer temperatures of 65-80 degrees and humidity levels of 75-85%... so for some areas of the country they are more than just a “summer” problem. Dogs get infested with fleas through contact with other animals or contact with fleas in the environment. Flea bites can cause itching for the host but for a sensitive or flea-allergic animal, this itching can be quite severe and leads to hair-loss, inflammation and secondary skin infections.

Lyme Disease[offsite link]Lyme disease is caused by the bite of an infected ticks carrying the bacteria. Dogs can be vaccinated against lyme disease. What are the symptoms?